The US Department of Justice has charged three foreign nationals in Manhattan with a deepfake scheme that allegedly stole at least $129 million from hospitals, banks and other businesses. Jacob Soall, Sharon Hazan and Guy Sheetrit each face seven counts, including wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering. Prosecutors say the conspiracy ran from at least July 2024 through at least February this year and involved thousands of companies. According to the indictment, employees were tricked into wiring money for confidential deals that never existed. Once the funds landed in accounts controlled by the conspirators, prosecutors allege the money was converted into cryptocurrency and split among participants. The alleged operation often started with an email sent through an electronic signature service such as DocuSign. The messages appeared to come from a company chief executive asking the employee to sign a nondisclosure agreement and arrange a compliance call. On later phone or video calls, prosecutors say conspirators used AI to mimic the executive’s voice and, at times, appearance. The fake executive then steered the employee to a purported attorney, sometimes using the identity of a real lawyer tied to a European office of a major law firm. Prosecutors allege the “lawyer” was not the real attorney and that the payment instructions sent money to accounts controlled by the conspirators. Soall, prosecutors say, focused on impersonating attorneys from the United Kingdom and kept a handwritten “Lawyer Call” script designed to discourage employees from discussing the supposed deal with colleagues by citing confidentiality and insider-trading concerns. Hazan and Sheetrit, prosecutors allege, handled money laundering. Prosecutors say Hazan claimed experience going back to 1994 and alleged he had moved more than $400 million in the prior three years. The charges were filed in Manhattan federal court. Soall was arrested in Spain on June 17, Hazan was arrested there on August 5, and Sheetrit was taken into custody in the United Kingdom on September 7. Extradition requests are pending, and all three are charged but not yet convicted.